TAKE THE DISNEY CLASS!! I ended up learning so much, and it even prompted outside-class discussions with friends about race/class/capitalism related to Disney. In-lecture assignments, midterm and final are only grades, but you get all the potential exam questions in advance. Well-structured class with lots of reading, but SO fun and interesting!

fair and overall good guy with interesting lectures

My favorite professor in college. Took it for mandatory course & and workload is super stressful (if u read & watch things) throughout, took me around 8~9 hours per week in average and finished a 100 page of notes lol. Definitely recommend it him if you're interested the TV industry and culture in the U.S..

DJ is the best lecturer that I have ever met. His lectures are logical and definitely worth to follow even if I hear a lot of complains about it. Take the lecture serious if you really want to learn something from the media & communication field.

Lecture slides are confusing not uploaded Write down a lot of the definitions in your notes because you will need to reference these definitions in your final paper. For the final paper pick a streaming service that mainly only has TV shows to write the paper correctly. Johnson did not even give mcburney accommodations to a student.

Warning: word vomit. It is clear that Johnson puts a lot of work in his online lectures & cares about the subject. The class structure, the amount of information, and the way the formation is presented makes this class unnecessarily difficult however. Lots of readings, Lots of lectures, hard tests & paper & mandatory participation in discussion.

Derek is the king of word vomit and each lecture contains loads of information making it impossible to get everything down. The massive paper is graded pretty harsh and takes a lot of time. Would not recommend this class if it's not required for you.

please please please never ever take this class if you don't have to. Derek is one of the driest, most boring lecturers who does not care at all if you get anything out of his class. Also one of the required texts is one of his own books. boo

The idea of the class was well meant, but executed terribly. Johnson but 5+ hours of online video content where he doesn't include any notes, and all of that is on the midterms. The lecture videos move so fast that you have to slow them down to get everything, and there isn't room to ask questions. The class isn't a lot of work until test time.

Overall, I enjoyed this class. I've heard a lot of complaints about it, but I think other Communication Majors who're interested in the history and value of television and media will also find it relatively interesting. The professor is chill and helpful. The class itself is very dependent on quiz and test scores, with a few projects.

the worst class ive ever taken its extremely boring and either the professor or the tv is accommodating to students in need. terrible terrible class. i would not take this class if i dont have to for my major

This class has a lot of readings! If you don't like to read, this will be a painful class for you, but the materials are interesting and provokes meaningful discussions. Derek is very knowledgeable and cares about his students. Grading is not though if you make effort in writing. Overall, this course is interesting and I recommend for theory class.

Com Arts 351 made me want to drop my major, transfer to the Engineering school, study hard for several years, graduate top of my class, apply to a top school, get my master's, apply to a different top school, get my doctorate, apply at NASA, and invent time travel so that I could get back all the time I wasted in 351.

Derek was very well versed in his material. The TA's were unusually tough on grading the tests based on structure, but if you do the readings every week you do well in discussion. Really interesting class, and very intuitive material. Readings are important for tests though. Few papers

Need more improvements and advancements on considering students in a more comprehensive way.

Great guy, but serious about the work. Knows a ton about the material and makes discussion easy to participate in.

You gotta work for your A in this class, but its so rewarding when you do. This class was so so interesting and fun, and the in-game RPG really does foster a great sense of community. It also means that you get out of the class what you put in! I don't think this class is going to be taught for about a year, but if you get the chance, let DJ shine!

Derek is a pretty fun professor; he directs class discussion well and the way the class RPG is set up is super fun to do. The RPG system allows students to skip exams and assignments provided they put in work and resources, which makes for a great bonding/community experience and good motivation to do coursework (or not, if youre like that).

Incredibly dry. If it's not required, do not take it. The concepts are basic but it's not worth it if you go in expecting a cool class on television. His lectures are dull and even when he tries to engage with students it falls flat.

Literally the worst class. Thought it was going to be an interesting class about television (not an easy A), but it's much more advanced and dry than I thought it would be. Don't take it.

This class was unbelievable. And in the worst way possible. The lectures are dry and ridiculously difficult to understand. Both the professor and the TA expect you to grasp all concepts fully after a 50 minute class, which is impossible because the lectures are way over your head. Don't take this class unless you are going into media industry.

dj is a great prof. When I took the topic course it was on the superhero genre. He knows so much about this subject. He's kind of nerdy but makes class easy to go to. Discussions were always really intense and intriguing.

If the class wasn't required for me there is no way I would have taken it. Lectures are insanely boring, dumb assignments, and everything, including tests are graded harder than they should be. Don't take this class unless you have to. Watching television for homework I guess is fun though. Readings are not so fun. Pop quizzes also suck.

Thought this class would be super interesting and it turns out it's one of the most boring class I've taken and there's so much busy work. It's not necessarily hard but there's a bunch of crap you have to do.

You definitely have to be interested in the topic otherwise I could see how lectures could be boring, but I thought this class was super interesting! Derek is very smart, and there's a wide variety of assignments to show off different skills, which is nice. Plus watching TV as homework was a plus. Overall I loved this class & Derek!

Lectures were kind of boring, but he was very interested in the course material. CA 250 is mentioned like a billion times and should be a requirement for the class. It's not bad, but if you think this class is all about just watching TV, you're mistaken.

Professor Johnson is an amazing professor. He is extremely knowledgeable on the subjects he teaches and is extremely helpful with any questions you may have. He makes you work for your grade, so if you want an "easy" class, don't take a course with him. If you want an extremely engaging lecture about media in our lives, take his courses.

Reads directly off the slides. Lectures are boring. Not an engaging lecturer and it's hard to sit through the whole thing. Class has a lot of busy work that is graded really hard. He takes it very seriously and is not very lenient on matters such as switching discussions or rescheduling a test. Test essay questions were difficult.

Put a lot more work into this class and my final grade didn't show it

Derek Johonson is an amazing man. He is very enthusiastic about what he teaches and knowledgeable about the subject. He will always ask questions to the students to get us engaged. I honestly ENJOYED attending this lecture. Notetaking is tough as he doesn't post slides online. With that being said, DISCUSSION SECTIONS SUCK. NOT HELPFUL AT ALL.

He is one of the professors you know that loves his subject, very knowlegeable in his subject. Will answers questions you have in lecture very clearly. Go to lectures, they are very helpful and do the readings otherwise courseload will be very difficult. A lot of work, but he is a very good professor.

Great professor. He has incredible lectures that are always clear, and if you don't understand something he is extremely helpful with that as well. Essay tests can be difficult and if you want to do really well on them I'd suggest doing the readings. But overall great class and it's not too hard at all.

DJ is a fantastic teacher! He's really funny and so engaged with the subject matter. Digital Gaming Cultures was the best class I've taken for all 4 years I've been at college. innovative, engaging, I was excited to go every day. DJ is great at listening to student concerns and making things easier if he has to!

Awesome guy, best discussion I've ever had in a class. Dedicated to the material and has best interest of student.

Very enthusiastic, and very fun. I will greatly miss this class next semester.

Derek is a lot of fun and knows so much about his subject matter. Class was fun to go to, it hardly felt like class. Derek is a funny guy and super helpful.

This class with DJ was simply a complete waste of time. He treats his students like a bunch of high schoolers who have never taken an exam nor been in a real college class. His screenings are arbitrary and attendance is a pain. Don't bother buying the books or doing the readings, as long as you know anything about TV you should be fine.

I loved the franchising seminar with Professor Johnson, I learned a lot of useful and interesting information, and in general really enjoyed the class. If you put in the time and effort (which is easy, with the subject matter being enjoyable), you can def get an A. He is very helpful and easy to talk to, would take another class with him!

The review below is ridiculous. Who cares if he takes attendance and doesn't post slides? You're supposed to be in class anyway. He seems like he legitimately enjoys teaching and the subject matter. Feeling a need to "prove himself" or "taking himself too seriously" probably comes from him being relatively new and wanting to make a good impression.

Expects a lot, takes attendance at lectures, gives quizzes on readings, lots of extra work. He takes himself way too seriously and acts like he needs to prove himself. Never posts slides. Avoid if you can, but not super hard to get a good grade.

Hard grader, boring. Don't take his class.

Extremely helpful and knowledgeable outside of class. Lab was laid back and enjoyable. He can be a tough grader, but he has great insights.